Improved post driver



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IMPROVED POST DRIVER.

D. D. FOLEY, or WASHINGTON, DISTRICT or COLUMBIA.

Lener. Paten No. 59,99o4,dmd'1vmmber 2r,',1866.

.SPEOIFIGATIor-r.

TO ALLJNHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Y u

Be it known that I, D. .D. FOLEY, of Washington city, in the county of Vifashington, .and District of Coluiibia, have invented'a new and useful'improvement in Rammers for Driving lFence Posts; .and I dofl'ereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccoinpanying drawings, in which- Figur-e1 is a perspective view of my implement in operation.

Figure-2 is a horizontal section of the same upon the line :v z.

Figure 3 is a perspective viewof vmy implement ina modified form,

The nature of my invention will be understood by the following description.

The common mode of setting fence posts is by-digging or boring suitable holes, into which the posts are than inserted, and the earth which was removed is thenI replaced and rammed down. This is a slow and teditvtlsoperation, and may be much more rapidly and satisfactorily performed' by driving the posts (previously sharpened) into the ground,'without the labor and trouble of boring or digging the post holes. Posts` have sometimes been driven into the ground for the purpose of making a. fence, but it has generally been where the posts were very slender and designed for a wattle fence. 'Hitherto no implement has been at hand for this purpose but a-heavysledge or maul, and they could not advantageously be used for thispurpose, because, first, they are not heavy enough (and could not be used if made suiiiciently heavy) to drive a post of the size commonly used in building post-and-rail or board fences; second, the repeated blows of a heavy Sledge o1'- maui, if used to' drive a large post, would batter and split the head of the post so as to .injure it materially, and it is therefore impracticable to drive a post in this way. But with my implement a post of anyl ordinary size may be drivenI with ease, and without the least damage. It consists of a heavy weight in the form' yrepresented in figs. 1, 2, and 3.

The cap A strikes fairly upon the dat top of the post at each blow, and therefore will not injure it materially; while, from the great force of the blow, it will require to beV struck but a few times to e`ect the pr pose. The Vcap A is connected with side pieces, B, about three feet in length. These sides may he plain surfaces at right angles to each other, or they may represent a segment Vof the surface of a'hollow cylinder, as in fig. 3. The handles c c, near the lower ends of the side pieces, are for the purpose of enabling the workmen to raise the rammerwhen a blow is to be delivered. It is thought that the weight of this `implement should be fifty (50) to seventy-five (75) pounds, though further experiment may `show a necessary variatioufrom this standard. p Y

When a post is to be driven by my implement, its lower end is iirstsharpened with an axe. I t is then set up in the proper place and position, and held so either by an individual or .by some mechanical means. The` rammer is then lifted and placed upon the post, as represented in iig. 1, Vthe cap A resting upon the top, and' the sides B resting against thelsides. of the post. Two men now grasp the handles cc,` and raise the rammer upward about two feet, sliding the side pieces along the surface of the peilt. When the proper height is reached, the workmen release the handles, and the whole implement slides down the side of the post, whichthen acts as a guide, until the cap A strikes upon the top of the post with a force due weight of the rammer and the distance through which it has fallen.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The fence-post driver, composed of a cap A., .and sides B, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

D. D. FOLEY.

Witnesses EDM. F. BROWN, R. D. 0.5mm. 

